The “American Dream” is the concept coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931, stating that “a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunities for each according to ability or achievement.” (Adams, 1931) The American Dream is simply not achievable for all. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie, George, and Crooks exemplify that the American Dream fails to provide equal opportunities for all.

Lennie, like many others, is being prevented from achieving the American Dream. He is less intelligent than others and has a hard time fitting into society. His inability to understand human interactions is what leads to his and George’s exile from Weed. “Dumb b*stard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he likes...So he reaches out to feel this red dress and the girl lets out a squawk, and he holds on ‘cause that’s the only thing he can think to do.” (Steinbeck 41) The girl runs to the police, and they were going to have Lennie lynched, so George had to help him escape, leaving them with no job, and little to no money. Lennie blindly follows orders and has no ideas of his own. “his arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.” (2) This symbolizes that Lennie has no purpose of his own and needs others to make use of him and to define his purpose in life. Lennie tags along with George so he can be given a goal to work towards. Because Lennie is so strong, without any professional help, Lennie will forever be an outcast from normal society, as he cannot lead a normal life without getting into accidents, and in the conservative U.S. in the 1930s, people with mental disabilities were discriminated against and laughed at, and no one gave any jobs with substantial value to disabled people. There were no medical facilities that could train Lennie to adapt to society, and he is stuck in this state forever. In fact, Lennie was lucky enough not to be put into an insane asylum. In his state, he cannot imagine achieving the American Dream alone. So, he relies on George to survive in American society. George cannot be always around Lennie, and a situation similar to the first leads to Lennie’s eventual death. “He shook her then, and he was angry with her...and then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (91) George was gone for only a few hours, and Lennie’s stupidity led to the complete destruction of his and George’s plan. No matter how perfect George’s plan may be, because of discrimination and the lack of proper treatment, Lennie’s disability will always lead to disaster and will bring down those with him too, making the American Dream impossible for those like Lennie.

George, unlike Lennie, had no disabilities and was not discriminated against by physical features, but he still cannot achieve the American Dream. George was born in the rural community of Auborn and had little education. All he knew was how to work on a ranch. This severely limited his opportunities for better jobs from the very start, as he lacks the knowledge required to get high-earning jobs. Because of this, it was highly unlikely to be successful. The ranches he worked on were also owned by rich railway companies, which means that entrepreneuring and starting his own business was very risky, as the market was dominated by rich corporate companies that could easily outcompete local businesses. George was born into a poor family, and without equal access to education, the poor is likely to stay poor, and the rich are likely to stay rich. Classism also forces the poor to work hard labor for low wages, profiting the rich even more. Even if George had any money, he would most likely waste it all on entertainment, which the rich companies also owned, as the uneducated did not know to have goals and invest in a long-term plan. “I seen too many you guys. If you had two bits in the worl’, why you’d be in getting’ two shots of corn with it and suckin’ at the bottom of the glass.” (79) “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong to no place. They come to a ranch and work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.” (14) This indicates that George and many ranchers do not have a future to look forward to. Instead, they do mundane things all day, and in the end, they end up with the same money they start with. Even though George claims that he is not like the others and has a plan, he never follows through with it, because in the end, he is just like the others. “Someday-we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres and a cow and some pigs” (14) His plan is flawed. Even if they manage to buy the property, they will not profit from selling their products. First, the rich companies have much more production power than them and George’s products are unlikely to ever sell, because the companies have better products, and can pay for the transportation of these products. George and Lennie cannot sell their products, which leads to them being unable to maintain their farm and decreasing their production efficiency even more. This vicious circle of attrition ensures that George and Lennie will be forced to return to the ranches, as they will not make enough money at their own farm. Together, classism and capitalism restrict the opportunities that George can have and forces him to stay in the lowest position, unable to achieve his dream.

Crooks suffers the most from discrimination, and for a black man in the 1930s, it is impossible to achieve the American Dream because of racism. Unlike all the other ranchers, Crooks is an intellectual and is educated. “He reads a lot. Got books in his room.” (20) He has access to books, and likes to be alone, aloof in his own thoughts. He has a permanent source of income. Unlike others, he did not, and could not drift in between ranches. He was a cripple and is a permanent stable buck. “and being a stable buck and a cripple, he was more permanent than the other men,” (67) He has a permanent job, and a purpose in life. If he was healthy and white, he could have risen to an executive position on the ranch. However, his racial identity has completely blocked any opportunities in rising the class ladder. He is separated from the rest of the men on the ranch, and unable to voice any of his ideas to the public. He is often used as a scapegoat for others’ faults, simply because he is black. “The boss gives him hell when he’s mad. But the stable buck doesn’t give a damn about that.” (20) Crooks has accepted his inferior position and has no hope of ever changing that position. Even his name indicates that others consider him inferior and worthless. People address him by a physical feature (crooked back), instead of his real name, like an animal. In many ways, Crooks is living the life of an animal. He lives in the stables, isolated from humans. He cannot voice his opinions or oppose white people for fear of being punished. “I can get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny. Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego-nothing to arouse either like or dislike. He said, [Yes, ma’am,] and his voice was toneless.” (81) Crooks will forever remain in this hopeless state because there will not be any opportunities or basic rights given to a black person at that age. Because of racism, no matter how smart or capable Crooks was, he is not given any opportunities for success, and he is far from achieving the American dream. He is living in a state no different from an animal.

The American Dream is a hopeful illusion made by successful men that were not discriminated against and had everything handed to them. They did not experience the hardships of the lower class, the discrimination faced by minorities, or having to struggle with a disability. The lower class was not given the same opportunities for success such as education, rights, and medical care, and the only people that could achieve the American Dream are the people that make up the monopolies that make the American Dream exclusive to them, and the commonfolk are just pawns in the great game of life.